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Steven Avery & Brendan Dassey— Case Archive
Steven Averytrial-daytrial-dayKenneth R. KratzJerome F. ButingDean A. StrangNick StahlkeBlaine DasseyBobbie DohrwardtRobert FabianLaura SchadrieScott TadychcrossdirectredirectrecrossDay 12 - February 27, 2007Witnesses testified about the burn barrel, bonfire, RAV4 bloodstains, and October 31 calls. Earlier accounts and conflicting call-duration entries drew questioning. The court deferred decisions on the renewed bullet-testing motion and proposed voicemail-access evidence.
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Day 12 - February 27, 2007

Fire Testimony, Phone Records, and Deferred Voicemail Decision

Judge Patrick L. Willis
20Proceedings
10Pages
6Witnesses
2,834Lines
Day 12 of 27
Appearing:
Kenneth R. Kratz Jerome F. Buting Dean A. Strang Nick Stahlke Blaine Dassey Bobbie Dohrwardt Robert Fabian Laura Schadrie Scott Tadych

Witnesses testified about the burn barrel, bonfire, RAV4 bloodstains, and October 31 calls. Earlier accounts and conflicting call-duration entries drew questioning. The court deferred decisions on the renewed bullet-testing motion and proposed voicemail-access evidence.

Full day summary

Outside the jury’s presence, the defense renewed its motion to suppress bullet fragment FL test results and related testimony, citing alleged contamination, consumption of the sample, and a previously undisclosed laboratory log. The court took the motion under advisement and allowed the State to respond later. On cross-examination, bloodstain analyst Nick Stahlke described limits on what the RAV4 stains could establish, including that he could not determine whether the person associated with a cargo-area hair-transfer stain was alive or dead. Blaine Dassey testified that he saw Steven Avery put a plastic bag into a burning barrel, though he did not know its contents. He also described a nighttime bonfire but ultimately could not identify the person he saw there. On cross-examination, he acknowledged earlier accounts that differed on the bonfire, barrel fire, and bag. Robert Fabian described smoke near the burn barrel that smelled like plastic but said he had not looked inside. Scott Tadych described a large evening fire; questioning brought out his earlier account of seeing two people by a fire at a different time. Cellcom and Cingular custodians reviewed October 31 call records. Testimony exposed conflicting durations for the 4:35 p.m. call in the records and summary exhibits, and Bobbie Dohrwardt later interpreted the call as going to voicemail while qualifying her reading of Cingular’s cell-site column. The court admitted the underlying records but left issues with the summaries for later. Separately, the judge declined to allow proposed evidence of unidentified access to Teresa Halbach’s voicemail at that time, without finally excluding it.

1. Renewed Motion to Suppress Bullet Fragment FL Test Results

Outside the jury's presence, the defense renewed its challenge to the bullet fragment FL test results and related testimony. The court took the motion under advisement.

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Procedural
Renewed Motion to Suppress Bullet Fragment FL Test Results
14 lines

The defense renewed its motion to suppress the bullet fragment FL test results; the court took it under advisement and allowed the State time to respond.

Highlights

Renewed Motion to Suppress Bullet Fragment FL Test ResultsrulingAfter the State requested time to review the earlier filings and transcripts, the court took the renewed motion under advisement and allowed a later response.

2. Nick Stahlke — Cross (Part 3)

Dean A. Strang questioned Nick Stahlke about the RAV4 bloodstains, including the limits of his blood-volume estimate and what the cargo-area stains could establish.

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Cross
Nick Stahlke — Cross Nick Stahlke Dean A. Strang
540 lines

Strang tested the limits of Stahlke's RAV4 bloodstain analysis, including blood quantity, possible cleanup, absent stains on vehicle controls, and what the cargo-area patterns could establish.

Highlights

Nick Stahlke — Crosstestimony highlightStahlke saw no high-velocity spatter in the RAV4 and classified the rear cargo-door stains as medium-velocity spatter. He could not determine whether the person associated with the bloody-hair transfer stain was alive or dead when it was made.

3. Blaine Dassey — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross

Blaine Dassey testified about a burning barrel and a later bonfire, while cross-examination examined his earlier denials of seeing those events.

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Direct
Blaine Dassey — Direct Blaine Dassey Kenneth R. Kratz
471 lines

Blaine Dassey described Steven Avery putting a bag into a burning barrel after school and a later bonfire behind the garage, but could not identify the person he saw near the nighttime fire.

Cross
Blaine Dassey — Cross Blaine Dassey Dean A. Strang
283 lines

Strang tested Blaine Dassey's fire account against earlier police interviews and questioned him about a confrontational November 15 interview; the court limited how a police report could be used to refresh his recollection.

Redirect
Blaine Dassey — Redirect Blaine Dassey Kenneth R. Kratz
37 lines

Blaine confirmed his November 15 fire account and said Steven's habit of bossing him around—not fear of retaliation—explained why he had said he was scared.

Recross
Blaine Dassey — Recross Blaine Dassey Dean A. Strang
14 lines

Blaine confirmed seeing one person at the bonfire and speaking with Brendan inside the house after returning home.

Highlights

Blaine Dassey — Directtestimony highlightBlaine said he saw Steven Avery throw a plastic bag into his burning barrel shortly after the school bus arrived. He described smoke and flames but could not identify the bag's contents, type, or size.Blaine Dassey — Directtestimony highlightBlaine described a bonfire behind the garage at about 11 p.m. Although he first called the person there Steven Avery, he then said he saw only one person and could not identify who it was.Blaine Dassey — Direct“I just seen a person.”— Blaine DasseyHe narrowed his earlier identification of the person near the nighttime bonfire.Blaine Dassey — CrossimpeachmentBlaine agreed that he had told police on November 7 he did not see Steve during the afternoon period discussed, denied seeing a burn-barrel fire or Steve with a white plastic bag in his November 11 account, and reported the bag on November 15.

4. Robert Fabian — Direct/Cross

Robert Fabian described plastic-smelling burn-barrel smoke during an October 31 rabbit hunt. On cross-examination, he said he had not looked inside the barrel.

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Direct
Robert Fabian — Direct Robert Fabian Kenneth R. Kratz
125 lines

Fabian described burn-barrel smoke that smelled like plastic, a garage door he believed was closed, and seeing Steven Avery near the trailer around 5:20 p.m.

Cross
Robert Fabian — Cross Robert Fabian Dean A. Strang
85 lines

Fabian said his exposure to burn-barrel smoke was brief and that he had not seen the barrel's contents or a larger fire.

Highlights

Robert Fabian — Directtestimony highlightFabian said smoke from the burn barrel blew toward him while the golf cart was stopped. He described heavier smoke that smelled like plastic rather than regular garbage, but said he did not look inside the barrel.

5. Scott Tadych — Direct/Cross/Redirect

Scott Tadych described seeing Steven Avery beside a large fire after returning from Green Bay, then answered questions about differences between his trial recollection and earlier police accounts.

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Direct
Scott Tadych — Direct Scott Tadych Kenneth R. Kratz
183 lines

Scott Tadych described passing Bobby Dassey before 3 p.m. and seeing a large evening fire near Steven Avery's garage, with Avery standing nearby.

Cross
Scott Tadych — Cross Scott Tadych Dean A. Strang
246 lines

Strang tested Tadych's fire and travel timeline against earlier police interviews, including differing accounts of when he saw the fire and whether Barb stayed overnight.

Redirect
Scott Tadych — Redirect Scott Tadych Kenneth R. Kratz
15 lines

Tadych said his recollection was clearer in November 2005 and clarified that he assumed Barb went home after leaving his house.

Highlights

Scott Tadych — Directtestimony highlightTadych described a large fire south of Steven Avery's garage around 7:30 to 7:45 p.m., with Avery standing nearby. He estimated the flames at roughly eight to ten feet.Scott Tadych — CrossimpeachmentAlthough Tadych said he now first remembered seeing the fire on his second visit, reviewing Exhibit 357 led him to confirm that he had told police he saw two people by a fire behind Steven's garage between 5:15 and 5:30 p.m.

6. Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct/Cross/Redirect

Cellcom custodian Bobbie Dohrwardt reviewed Avery's October 31 call records. Cross-examination identified an 11-second connection for a call to Teresa Halbach that was missing from a prosecutor-prepared summary.

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Direct
Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct Bobbie Dohrwardt Kenneth R. Kratz
96 lines

Cellcom custodian Bobbie Dohrwardt described Avery's October 31 call records, including two calls to Teresa Halbach using *67; the court received the records and a summary.

Cross
Bobbie Dohrwardt — Cross Bobbie Dohrwardt Jerome F. Buting
158 lines

Dohrwardt confirmed an 11-second connection for the 4:35 p.m. call despite a zero duration in the prosecutor-prepared summary, and agreed the summary should be amended.

Redirect
Bobbie Dohrwardt — Redirect Bobbie Dohrwardt Kenneth R. Kratz
83 lines

Dohrwardt described limits in reading Cingular records for the 4:35 p.m. call; after objections, the judge limited her testimony to Cellcom and deferred the Cingular questions.

Highlights

Bobbie Dohrwardt — Directtestimony highlightUsing the records, Dohrwardt identified a 2:24 p.m. call to Teresa Halbach lasting seven seconds and a 2:35 p.m. attempted call to her with no duration. She said both used the *67 blocking feature.Bobbie Dohrwardt — CrossconfrontationButing compared the 4:35 p.m. entry in Exhibit 359 with the zero duration in Exhibit 360. After objections to his characterization, Dohrwardt confirmed an 11-second connection, said she had first seen the summary that day, and agreed its duration column should be amended to show 11 seconds.

7. Laura Schadrie — Direct/Cross (Part 1)

Cingular records custodian Laura Schadrie reviewed Teresa Halbach’s calls, including a 4:35 p.m. call attributed to Steven Avery. On cross-examination, she said the records could not show whether it went to voicemail.

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Direct
Laura Schadrie — Direct Laura Schadrie Kenneth R. Kratz
145 lines

Cingular custodian Laura Schadrie traced Teresa Halbach's October 31 calls, including a 4:35 p.m. call attributed to Steven Avery, but could not say whether that call was completed.

Cross
Laura Schadrie — Cross Laura Schadrie Jerome F. Buting
100 lines

Buting tested the limits of Cingular call records and a separate summary, then began questioning Schadrie about voicemail-status records without obtaining an answer to his November 5 question.

8. November 2 Voicemail Access, Investigative-Bias Theory, and Deferred Admissibility Ruling

Outside the jury's presence on Day 12, the judge deferred a decision on voicemail-access records Buting offered as a possible investigative lead.

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Procedural
November 2 Voicemail Access, Investigative-Bias Theory, and Deferred Admissibility Ruling
49 lines

The judge deferred a final ruling on the defense’s proposed November 2 voicemail-access evidence, declining to allow it at that time while considering its relevance.

Highlights

November 2 Voicemail Access, Investigative-Bias Theory, and Deferred Admissibility RulingrulingThe judge declined to allow the evidence at that time but did not finally exclude it, saying he needed to consider its relevance and giving the State time to seek an explanation for the access.November 2 Voicemail Access, Investigative-Bias Theory, and Deferred Admissibility Ruling“I'm not going to allow it at this time. But I'm not going to automatically exclude it either.”— Patrick L. WillisThe judge distinguished his immediate ruling from a final exclusion.

9. Laura Schadrie — Cross (Part 2)

Laura Schadrie clarified the meaning of blank fields in Teresa Halbach’s phone records. The defense accepted names in the call summaries but continued to dispute the recorded duration of the 4:35 p.m. call.

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Cross
Laura Schadrie — Cross-Examination Resumed Laura Schadrie Jerome F. Buting
90 lines

Schadrie clarified that blank dialed-number fields reflected incoming calls, while counsel explained the name-based summaries and preserved a dispute over the 4:35 p.m. call duration.

Highlights

Laura Schadrie — Cross-Examination Resumed“We still do dispute, because the exhibits are inconsistent as to the 4:35 p.m. phone call, one of which says the duration is zero seconds and another exhibit says 13 seconds.”— Jerome F. ButingButing expressly preserved the defense's disagreement about the call duration while stipulating to the names in the summaries.

10. Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct/Cross (Recall)

Bobbie Dohrwardt testified on recall about cell-site entries and voicemail in Halbach’s phone records. The judge set a dispute over summary exhibits for the next morning.

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Direct
Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct (Recall) Bobbie Dohrwardt Kenneth R. Kratz
55 lines

Dohrwardt interpreted the phone records as showing a final cell-site connection at 2:41 p.m. and a 4:35 p.m. call spent in voicemail, while qualifying her reading of the Icell column.

Cross
Bobbie Dohrwardt — Cross (Recall) Bobbie Dohrwardt Jerome F. Buting
45 lines

Dohrwardt said the records could not establish whether the phone was powered down; counsel left changes to two summary exhibits for further discussion.

Highlights

Bobbie Dohrwardt — Direct (Recall)testimony highlightDohrwardt identified the 2:41 p.m. call as the last shown using a cell tower and interpreted the 4:35 p.m. entry, which lacked an associated cell site, as voicemail rather than a call physically answered on the phone.
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